Terry has devoted his career to public service, first as an Air Force officer, then as director of training for the U.S. Department of Education, and most recently as Dean of Faculty of the Federal Executive Institute, the federal government’s premiere residential executive education center. He left federal service in 2005 and currently has his own firm, Leadership for a Responsible Society.

Terry's current work is focused on ethics and values-based leadership in government. In 2007, he co-edited The Trusted Leader: Building the Relationships That Make Government Work (CQ Press). His recent books include Statesmanship, Character, and Leadership in America (Palgrave Macmillan) and Reflections on America (Loftlands Press)..

Terry believes in the immense power of people to create the organizations they desire for themselves and the people they serve. Bloody Mary in the play South Pacific, said it best: “You gotta have a dream if you wanna have a dream come true.”

Entries by Terry Newell

Earlier this year the U.S. Senate voted 98-1 that "[c]limate change is real and not a hoax." That vote did not comfort many liberals, though, because only a third of Republicans (as opposed to two thirds of Democrats) think that human activity is causing climate change....

At a private club, in front of friendly, fellow conservatives in Manhattan this past Thursday, former New York City mayor and former presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, said of President Obama that "I do not believe that the president loves America." Asked the next day on Fox News, another friendly venue,...

The only surprise about the current measles outbreak is that we are surprised. This event, years in the making, is what psychologist Max Bazerman and consultant Michael Watkins called a "predictable surprise" in their 2004 book by the same name. By that label, they refer to problems that worsen over...

Walking along the tan sands on the beach at Longboat Key yesterday, I felt the gentle breeze and the warming temperature that had just barely pushed aside the morning chill. I noticed the sun, about halfway on its journey toward noon. Its rays bounced off the softly breaking waves, which...

College for careers is a dominant theme in our conversation about higher education. In the president's plan for tuition-free community college education, he noted that "Americans need more knowledge and skills to meet the demands of a growing global economy." In the Department of Education's draft proposal for...

From my earliest memories, I never wanted to fail. From getting the "right" answer in school, the highest batting average in Little League, the approval of my parents for good grades, and the highest performance ratings from supervisors at work, earning a reputation for success has been a driving force...

Within hours of the grand jury decisions in Ferguson and Staten Island, protests erupted across America. Sometimes peaceful, sometimes violent, they brought the issue of race and policing to the front burner once again. The heat has now ignited a man who assassinated two New York police officers in a...

The debate over the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's "torture report" has quickly taken a predictable form. The report claims that "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" (EITs) were ineffective. Its critics claim: They produced actionable intelligence. The report argues that the techniques were brutal and their use legally suspect. Its critics claim...

The decision by grand juries in Ferguson, Missouri, and Staten Island, New York, not to indict white police officers whose use of force resulted in the deaths of two black men has led many to take their demand for justice into the streets.

In his Farewell Address, President George Washington pleaded with his countrymen to give the republican government they had created a chance to work. He knew that sectional rivalries, factions, and human nature itself could drive apart those who should cherish the fact that they shared the name "American."

A recent CBS News poll confirms what we already know. The performance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Veterans Affairs Department (VA), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is rated as "fair/poor" by most Americans (60, 66, and 53 percent respectively). Missteps on...

Did Officer Darren Wilson deliberately gun down Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri? Should Jody Arias get the death penalty? Was President Obama wrong to play golf after announcing his outrage at the execution of James Foley by ISIS terrorists? Should American Ebola patients be brought to the U.S. for treatment?...

Facebook and two university researchers have been criticized for a study in which the popular social networking site deliberately manipulated the news feeds of 700,000 users to test "emotional contagion," the concept that people can pass on their emotional state to others. When Facebook reduced the number of incoming positive...

Americans (57 percent of them, at any rate) recently gave President Obama a failing grade for his leadership in foreign policy. In Libya, Egypt, Syria, Ukraine and now Iraq, the president has seemed, to many, to lack a coherent strategy and the ability to advance U.S. interests. Before...

Both individuals and institutions have become sophisticated in using the U.S. Constitution to support policies they favor - and fight against those they do not. Whether arguing about the meaning of the Second Amendment as it relates to bearing arms or the First Amendment as it relates to free speech...

On April 1, 1976, Ron Wayne entered a partnership with Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. Called Apple, the new company prepared to launch its first computer. By the end of that same month, Wayne agreed to a payout of $2,300 to give up all rights to future Apple earnings. He...

Americans' distrust in their national government began to decline during the Vietnam War, which led Lyndon Johnson to abandon the presidency rather than run for a second term. The decline intensified with Watergate, which forced out Richard Nixon in disgrace. Americans' trust in the federal government has never recovered. It...

Multiple lives are lost in a tragedy that makes the national news. Early reports suggest that mismanagement, perhaps even criminal negligence, may have been a factor. A contrite leader promises transparency, launches a full investigation and meets with victims' families. A man with a national reputation for integrity and efficiency...

If you were not watching the Super Bowl on February 2, chances are that you might have been were watching the BBC's hit series Downton Abbey. For the second year running, it ranked second in viewership on that night. The show has sparked such loyalty that Downton parties, in early...